Samuel Adams Bonfire Rauchbier
Boston Beer Company (Samuel Adams)

Samuel Adams Bonfire RauchbierSamuel Adams Bonfire Rauchbier
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From:
Boston Beer Company (Samuel Adams)
 
Massachusetts, United States
Style:
Rauchbier
ABV:
5.7%
Score:
77
Avg:
3.35 | pDev: 23.88%
Reviews:
239
Ratings:
579
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Dec 21, 2020
Added:
Aug 06, 2011
Wants:
  25
Gots:
  28
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by BDIMike:
Photo of BDIMike
Reviewed by BDIMike from Ohio

2.53/5  rDev -24.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 1.5
Pours a good looking light brown color with a good amount of haziness to it. A thin tan head is created that has fairly good retention.
Smell is fairly subdued. A bit of a smokey, roasty smell. Good malt smells too though.
Taste is really smoky. Really really smoky. Smoke overbears almost any other taste in this beer.
Mouthfeel is okay. Good thickness, a little too sharp for my liking.
Drinkability is very low. THe taste is so overpowering I can't taste anything else. I couldn't even finish this beer, and that does not happen very often with me.
Nov 25, 2011
More User Ratings:
Photo of Trunker
Reviewed by Trunker from Arizona

4.64/5  rDev +38.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75
It’s a smoked beer unlike anything I’d had before. It was a great pairing with so much...burgers, barbecue, most meats, pizza and more. It makes me sad it’s not made a comeback. It was a classic.
Dec 21, 2020
Photo of DanKoozie
Reviewed by DanKoozie

4.24/5  rDev +26.6%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Some may complain about the "smoky" taste, but then again, what were you expecting with a "bonfire" beer? It's too bad this is retired because I would absolutely try this again. Had it years ago and still, this is one of the more memorable tasting beers I've ever had. Literally tried it for the first time next to a campfire with some friends, and it couldn't have been more perfect. Great summer beer that paired great with some grilled food. I hope Sam Adams brings it back one day!
Apr 13, 2020
Photo of Frank_Castle
Rated by Frank_Castle from Pennsylvania

4.98/5  rDev +48.7%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 5
The beer equivalent of a Smokey scotch. So sad that this is retired.
Nov 30, 2017
 
Rated: 2.54 by Khaack from New York

Oct 28, 2017
Photo of Raime
Reviewed by Raime from Korea (North)

3.81/5  rDev +13.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Was working up in Troy and elected to grab some gas on the way home. They had a small singles section where I found three of these. The owner said they had been sitting awhile and he'd give me all three bottles for $2. Rauchs are a tough style to find so I figured why the hell not.

Pours a darker shade of golden with a nice clarity. Finger and foamy head which disappears rather quickly.

Smell is that classic Rauch beer smoke you'd come to expect though I has noticeably faded quite a bit. Touch of adjunct oddly enough.

Taste follows suit but the smoke is more prominent. Some more hop comes forward though it's over shadowed and hard to pinpoint.

Feel is rather creamy though the carbonation is pretty flat. Flavors retain and it swallow with a nice smokiness in the throat.

Overall I now notice that this beer is retired so it was last brewed at least a year ago. Three bottles for $2 was still a pretty solid deal and I'll have no problem topping them off. This will be the third Rauch I've had and probably my least favorite but that isn't saying a lot considering the other two were pretty great. This is quite nice as well.

EDIT : Having a pretty hearty laugh at the past few reviews complaining of the smoke. Apparently they don't know kindergarten level German.
Feb 16, 2017
 
Rated: 2.1 by MattXT from Virginia

Sep 15, 2016
Photo of David_Shrortish
Reviewed by David_Shrortish from Texas

1.23/5  rDev -63.3%
look: 4 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1
Oh Lord... Slinky to smooth, hoppy or saison, I drink 'em all. But this may have been a beer too far. When I cracked the cap, I thought "wait, is this some novelty 'Bacon Beer?' No. It was a beer that someone left work proud of calling their own... "Honey, I did it! A real gosh dignity Sam Adams beer!" "What does it taste like?" "Oh, it's your classic Stella Artois meets Beggin' Strips"

This beer was... Bad. Bad, bad.

That said, my dog loved it, but only after I cut it with a cup of tap water. Loki knows best...
Sep 03, 2016
 
Rated: 3.58 by animal69 from Louisiana

Aug 25, 2016
Photo of Foxzhu
Reviewed by Foxzhu from Texas

2.88/5  rDev -14%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2
Just tastes like they put a drop of liquid smoke in a normal sam adams. Kinda tastes like I'm drinking a literal bonfire or a grill cleaning brush. I expected a toasted taste instead.
Aug 18, 2016
 
Rated: 3.25 by Gkruszewski from New York

Jul 20, 2016
 
Rated: 4.16 by duckhunter from Arkansas

Jun 07, 2016
Photo of rodbeermunch
Reviewed by rodbeermunch from Nevada

3.24/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
Brown, thin mild head, off white. Restrained smoke character.

Smooth, easy drinking rauch. Doesn't come off super smokey or meaty. I guess its not meant for people way down the rabbit hole into this kind of thing, but I think for someone like me, the nice touch and minimalism works out nicely.
Feb 12, 2016
 
Rated: 3.67 by Zylod from West Virginia

Jan 02, 2016
 
Rated: 3.54 by PJCarnell from Massachusetts

Sep 17, 2015
 
Rated: 1 by jpuetz from South Dakota

Aug 06, 2015
 
Rated: 2.8 by DrMindbender from South Carolina

Jul 09, 2015
 
Rated: 3.11 by chrisjws from California

May 22, 2015
 
Rated: 3.25 by ArkyVaughan from New Jersey

Mar 06, 2015
 
Rated: 3.25 by DrBier from Pennsylvania

Feb 08, 2015
Samuel Adams Bonfire Rauchbier from Boston Beer Company (Samuel Adams)
Beer rating: 77 out of 100 with 579 ratings